They are all in very good condition and mostly punk/rock. The 2 ‘All’ CDs were American promo’s so have a hole through the barcode. If you want any more info then please search for the album at http://maft.co/music as this will give you all the info like packaging etc.

The CD’s are:

So, how do I listen to my music while I’m working? MediaMonkey doesn’t work too well in WINE, it’s OK in Parallels but running a 2nd OS solely for music isn’t ideal…

For a while I used Spotify. I was using it ‘wrongly’ apparently though as I used to listen to albums I already owned rather than for discovering new music. They have recently limited the free version to only play a track a maximum of 5 times so my use has been severely affected.

I’ve been hunting for a method to play music on my MacBook Pro that doesn’t involve iTunes. Someone mentioned Airfoil for streaming music across a network which sounded OK but I would have to physically go to the computer to change tracks / playlists… Then I discovered MonkeyTunes which, put simply, allows you to use Apple’s Remote app on iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad to have full control of MediaMonkey. Sweet!

So, now I have my MacBook Pro running as an Airfoil ‘speaker’, the windows machine running as the Airfoil source and I use my iPhone to control it all. I can also use my Android phone as the remote too, or my iPad.

Another bonus is I can install the free Airfoil speaker app onto my old iPhone 3G and stream it to that if I wanted to connect that to my stereo or the dock when I have guests and the MBP isn’t loud enough.

I’m pretty chuffed! So even with iOS 4.3 allowing HomeSharing of iTunes library, I can still use MediaMonkey for my music AND have all the benefits (and more) of that being shared across handheld devices and computers!

The only thing that annoys me is I didn’t discover all this 2 years ago…

This is going to be hard to pick only 5 songs…! I’ve been a big fan of Washington pop-punks, MxPx, since 1998. MxPx are a great band – catchy music and great lyrics. They should be huge; especially when you consider that it was MxPx who took Good Charlotte on tour as a support band back in 2000/2001. Still, it has it’s advantages – as a relatively ‘unknown’ band in the UK when they tour here you get to see them in some more intimate gigs. As an extra ‘treat’ for their fans they always record some kind of EP in between main LP releases. These include covers albums, and more ‘raw’ tracks recorded in their own studio. They’ve dabbled with the poppier side (Before Everything And After) and the rawk side (The Renaissance EP) and always come out trumps. Now, to try choose 5 songs…

1. Tomorrow’s Another Day (from ‘Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo’)
2. Wrecking Hotel Rooms (from ‘Panic’)
3. Cristalena (from ‘Life In General’)
4. You’re On Fire (from ‘Secret Weapon’)
5. It’s Undeniable (from ‘The Ever Passing Moment’)

I’ve been a fan of Aussie rockers, The Living End, for over a decade although I’ve only ever seen them live once. They play catchy rock music infused with punk and some rockabilly – it’s all good! One thing that helps them stand out is the double bass that they use instead of a normal bass guitar. It gives it a definitive sound and also looks awesome on stage!

I blogged this after Leeds Festival 2009:

It was soon time to teach Shaun how awesome Australians could be with the fantastic The Living End. Not only do these guys play great music (punk-rockabilly is the easiest way to explain!) but they put on an amazing performance too! This was the first time I’d seen a bottle-neck slide used that was not only still attached to the bottle but also still full of beer – although the guitar tech wasn’t pleased to have to clear all that up… The upright bass also makes for good entertainment value with various spins and an extra platform to stand on. You may be able to guess, but I was blown away by The Living End!

1. Prisoner of Society (from ‘The Living End’)
2. Don’t Shut The Gate (from ‘Roll On’)
3. Raise The Alarm (from ‘White Noise’)
4. Uncle Harry (from ‘Roll On’)
5. How Do We Know (from ‘White Nosie’)

And here’s a couple of photo’s and a video:

I Only have one album from Welsh rockers Kids In Glass Houses – but it’s a great one! Difficult to describe, they’re rocky and punky without being too much of either. Your best bet, if that catches your attention, is to take a listen to them on Spotify. There’s a lovely acoustic version of ‘Matters At All’ on there too. All the songs for this Music Monday are from their album ‘Dirt’ except for number 5.

1. Sunshine
2. Artbreaker II
3. Young Blood
4. Giving Up
5. Matters At All (Acoustic)

More trumpet punk, this time from The Insyderz. Bizarrely I’m not keen on their normal album(s) but prefer, instead, their worship albums. On ‘Skalleluia!’ and ‘Skalleluia Too!’ The Insyderz set out to make Christian worship songs as awesome as they should have been in the first place!

1. You Are My All n All (from ‘Skalleluia!’)
2. Who Is This? (from ‘Skalleluia Too!’)
3. In The Secret (from ‘Skalleluia Too!’)
4. Awesome God (from ‘Skalleluia!’)
5. All That I Am (from ‘Skalleluia Too!’)

In what seems like another life I use to swim for Bingley Amateur Swimming Club. We had links with e Dutch club, de Watervrienden Lisse, with whom we did an ‘exchange’ each year. One year we would go to Holland, the next year they would come to England. I made a few good friends from those trips who I am still in touch with, even though I’ve not swam properly for over a decade! In, I think, 1996 there was one lad called ‘Rob’ who introduced me to the Dutch punk band de Heideroosjes – I was instantly hooked! Their older stuff has a very raw, aggressive sound but in the late 90′s they were signed to Epitaph and their music, although still similar in style, has a more polished sound to it. Most songs are in English but there are quite a number in Dutch (various dialects), German and Flemish.

1. Lekker Belangrijk (from ‘Chapter Eight, The Golden State’)
2. Nothing For Free (from ‘Fifi’ & ‘Smile… You’re Dying’)
3. Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden (from ‘Choice For A Lost Generation?!’ & ‘Smile… You’re Dying’)
4. Regular Day In Bosnia (from ‘Schizo’)
5. Ring Of Fire [cover] (from ‘Ode & Tribute’)

I think, for anyone who knows me, this will be an obvious choice for ‘G’. I’ve been a fan of Green Day since I first heard Basket Case back in 1995 when I was 15. I’ve pretty much grown up with them and been ‘with’ them while they’ve dabbled with different genres and styles – but they always make great albums. They’re certainly not ‘punk’ any more, but they’ve grown older and their style has changed. But see them live and you’ll see they still have all the energy – particularly when they surprise you with a very old song mixed in with the more recent stuff. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them and they are, by quite a long way, my all time favourite band. As such, this Music Monday will be slightly different. Instead of simply listing my 5 favourite tracks (that’s too hard!) I’m going to list my favourite song from each of Green Day’s major album releases.

1. 1,000 Hours (from ’1,000 Hours EP’)
2. Paper Lanterns (from ‘Slappy EP’)
3. Road To Acceptance (from ’39/Smooth’)
4. One Of My Lies (from ‘Kerplunk!’)
5. In The End (from ‘Dookie’)
6. 86 (from ‘Insomniac’)
7. Prosthetic Head (from ‘Nimrod’)
8. Church On Sunday (from ‘Warning’)
9. Homecoming (from ‘American Idiot’)
10. Murder City (from ’21st Century Breakdown’)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ska-punk FTW! Five Iron Frenzy were a great, lively ska-punk band (also defined, by me as ‘trumpet-punk’; i.e. not so much actual ska on a lot of songs!) – one of many that have since disbanded. What set them apart, for me at least, was their brilliant lyrics – witty, deep and with the occasional bad rhyme. Some samples include: “I’m 29 years old still wearing my wallet chain like I was 28; I’m wearing my Vans so that high school kids will think that I can skate”, “I don’t care if we’re punk or ska or hardcore enough for you, it’s sad but true; you can call us names till your face turns blue; Our assurance comes from God, it’s nothing new, we’ll never care ’cause we’re never cool enough for you.” and “Wizard needs food, badly.”

1. At Least I’m not Like All Those Other Old Guys (from ‘The End Is Near’)
2. American Kryptonite (live) (from ‘The End Is Here’)
3. Cool Enough For You (from ‘Upbeats and Beatdowns’)
4. A Flowery Song (from ‘Live – Proof That The Youth Are Revolting’)
5. Farewell To Arms (from ‘The End Is Near’)